BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi appointed NDMC chairperson

Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament from New Delhi constituency Meenakshi Lekhi has been appointed chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council.

Lekhi, who defeated Congress heavyweight Ajay Maken in her debut Lok Sabha election, took oath on Friday after the civic body received an official notification from the Union home ministry.

Lekhi takes over from Jalaj Srivastava, a 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service officer who was appointed the NDMC chairperson in August last year. Lekhi will be the second MP to be part of the council after amendments were made in the NDMC Act in 2011. Before Lekhi, the Congress MP from New Delhi, Ajay Maken, was its member.

As per the amendment, the MP and MLA of the New Delhi Lok Sabha and Assembly constituency automatically become members of the council.

The ceremony was held during the council meeting, which was also attended by Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, and other council members. Kejriwal became the MLA from New Delhi and hence an NDMC member after he defeated former Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit.

Lekhi made a number of announcements on the occasion, ranging from construction of flats for economically weaker sections to making the posh NDMC area plastic-free.

In a major relief for the employees of the civic body, the BJP MP directed the council to provide subsidy in power bills for even those who do not reside in the areas under the jurisdiction of NDMC.

Till now, subsidy is only provided to those employees who reside in the NDMC areas.

In an effort to make the NDMC area slum free, Lekhi asked the civic body to identify surplus land to construct Type-I/II flats for the Economically Weaker Sections. She also said that efforts should be made to putting an end to the use of plastic in NDMC areas.

Talking about the problem of tehbazari (street vending), Lekhi said the NDMC should find effective solutions to deal with it.

Lekhi will be the second MP after Maken to be part of the council after amendments were made in the Act in 2011.

The area under NDMC's jurisdiction comprises the territory known as Lutyen's Delhi and covers the VIP zone that houses the seat of authority in the national capital.